Mugwort-impregnated sheet and method for making the same

ABSTRACT

A system for making a mugwort-impregnated sheet includes a release drum having a roll of meshed linen wound thereon, a withdrawal drum for withdrawal the meshed linen from the release drum, a device for applying a binder on the meshed linen while the meshed linen is withdrawn to the withdrawal drum; and a device for applying a mugwort powder on the meshed linen while the meshed linen is withdrawn to the withdrawal drum.

This is a division of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/123,501, filed Jul. 28, 1998.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mugwort-impregnated sheet and amethod for manufacturing the same and, more particularly, to amugwort-impregnated sheet which is suitable for use in a hygienic band,and a method for making the same.

The present invention further relates to a system for making amugwort-impregnated sheet.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The applicant has researched and developed a hygienic band using mugwortwhich has medicinal properties that are effective in stopping bleeding,the refining of blood, treating cuts and abrasions, alleviating pain andinflammation, and getting rid of bad odors. As a result, a method formanufacturing a mugwort-impregnated pad has been developed. This methodis disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,400.

In this patent, the hygienic band comprises a pad and a mugwort sheetattached on the pad. The mugwort sheet is made of a nap/pulp mixture.The mugwort naps are obtained through the steps of breaking a lump ofdry mugwort and straining the crushed mugwort.

The nap/pulp mixture is dehydrated to be the mugwort sheet. That is, thedisclosed mugwort sheet contains a natural pulp, reducing the amount ofthe mugwort material.

In addition, a plurality of apertures through which blood flows into thepad must be formed on the sheet through a perforation process, causingdecreased productivity. Furthermore, the more than 70% of the sheet iswasted in forming the apertures. Although these chips to make theapertures are recycled, additional costs are involved in the recyclingprocess.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve theabove described problems of the prior art.

It is an object of the present invention to provide amugwort-impregnated sheet which is suitable for use as a hygienic bandand is inexpensively made through a simple process.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a mugwort-impregnatedsheet comprises a paper made of pulp, and a dissociated mugwort napsadded on at least one side of the paper.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method formaking mugwort-impregnated sheet, comprising the steps of crushing alump of dry mugwort into 50-150 mesh size pieces, straining the crushedmugwort to obtain a certain amount of mugwort naps without stalk andchlorophyll, fumigating the mugwort naps in a steam boiler having atemperature of about 300° and pressurized to roughly 2-3 ton/m³,dissociating the mugwort naps in a first refiner; applying the mugwortnaps on a draft paper, which is made by dissociating a lump of pulp in asecond refiner, to obtain a drafting mugwort sheet, dehydrating thedrafting mugwort sheet.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, amugwort-impregnated sheet comprising a meshed linen, a binder applied onthe meshed linen in latitude and longitude pattern, and a mugwort powderapplied on a surface of the meshed linen.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention a method formaking a mugwort-impregnated sheet, comprising the steps of applying abinder on a meshed linen in latitude and longitude pattern, and applyinga mugwort powder on the surface of the meshed linen.

The mugwort powder is applied on the pattern by a sprayer.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a system formaking a mugwort-impregnated sheet comprising a release drum having aroll of meshed linen wound thereon, a withdrawal drum for withdrawal themeshed linen from the release drum, means for applying a binder on themeshed linen while the meshed linen is withdrawn to the withdrawal drum;and means for applying a mugwort powder on the meshed linen while themeshed linen is withdrawn to the withdrawal drum.

The means for applying a binder comprises a sprayer.

The means for applying a mugwort powder comprises a reservoir containingthe mugwort powder.

The system further comprises a guider for guiding the meshed linen.

The meshed linen is selected from the group consisting of a gauze and alace.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of this invention, and many of theattendant advantages thereof, will be readily apparent as the samebecomes better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which like reference symbols indicate the same or similarcomponents, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a mugwort-impregnated sheetmanufacturing process according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a mugwort-impregnatedsheet manufacturing process according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a partly enlarged perspective view showing amugwort-impregnated sheet obtained through the process depicted in FIG.2; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a modified example of the secondembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic view illustrating amugwort-impregnated sheet manufacturing process according to a firstembodiment of the present invention;

First, a lump of dry mugwort is crushed into 10-150 mesh size pieces andis then strained through a sieve to obtain a certain amount of mugwortnaps without stalk and chlorophyll. The mugwort naps are fumigated in asteam boiler having a temperature of about 300° C. and pressurized toroughly 2-3 ton/m³. After this, the mugwort naps are dissociated in afirst refiner 2. At this point, a lump of pulp is separately dissociatedin a second refiner 4.

The pulp dissociated in the second refiner 4 is transmitted to adrafting paper-making machine 6 to obtain drafting paper 8 having apredetermined thickness. The mugwort naps dissociated in the firstrefiner 2 is applied on or merged with the draft paper 8, therebyobtaining a drafting mugwort sheet 10.

The drafting mugwort sheet 10 is dehydrated and dried through a dryprocess and is then rolled around a winding roller 14, thereby obtaininga pad material.

The pad material is multi-layered to result in the mugwort impregnatedhygienic band.

In the above first embodiment, the drafting mugwort sheet 10 can beapplied on an entire surface of the drafting paper 8 or applied in aplurality of strands state on the surface of the drafting paper 8 in apredetermined pattern.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view showing a mugwort-impregnatedsheet manufacturing process according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

In this embodiment, the mugwort-impregnated sheet is made by applyingmugwort powder on a meshed linen 22 such as gauze or lace.

The meshed linen 22 passes through a reservoir 28 containing the mugwortpowder while it is wound from a release drum 24 to a withdrawal drum 26.The release and withdrawal drum 24 and 26 are driven by a driving system(not shown) at a predetermined speed.

The meshed-linen 22 is guided by a pair of guide rollers 30 and 32 whichare oppositely disposed within the reservoir 28. If necessary, anadditional guide roller 34 may be disposed on a moving path of themeshed linen 22.

A binder is applied on the meshed-linen 22 before the meshed linen 22goes into the reservoir 28. The binder is sprayed through a nozzle 40disposed close to the release drum 24.

The most suitable material as the binder is carboxymethylcellulose sinceviscosity thereof can be easily adjusted by adjusting pH thereof. Themugwort power contained in the reservoir 28 is attached on the binderapplied on the meshed linen 22 while it passes through the reservoir 28.

The mugwort power may be applied on only one surface or both surfaces ofthe meshed linen 22. Therefore, when the mugwort power is applied onboth surfaces of the meshed linen 22, a pair of nozzles 40 are disposedtoward the both surfaces of the meshed linen 22.

More preferably, the nozzles 40 are disposed to spray the binder whilereciprocally moving along a width direction of the meshed linen 22.

The binder applying means is not limited to the nozzle 40. As an anotherembodiment, there may be provided a container containing the binder onthe meshed linen moving path so that the meshed linen 22 can be immersedwhile moving along the path.

In this embodiment, when the carboxymethylcellulose is adjusted to beneutral pH or low alkaline, it appears the high viscosity good enough tobind the mugwort powder.

While the meshed linen 22 passes through the reservoir 28, the mugwortpower 16 is attached on the surface of the meshed linen in the latitudeand longitude directions.

The meshed linen 22 applied with the mugwort powder 16 is wound aroundthe withdrawal drum 26, if required, after it is dried. It is preferablethat the meshed linen 22 applied with the mugwort powder is dried by aforced dry method using dry air.

It is also considerable to vibrate the reservoir 28 so that the mugwortpower 16 can be applied on the meshed linen 22 evenly.

Alternatively, the mugwort power 16 may be applied on the meshed linen22 by being sprayed through a nozzle 42 as shown in FIG. 4. At thispoint, a partition wall 44 is disposed around the nozzle 42 to provide ashielded area where the mugwort power wafts. The wafting mugwort 16 isreturned to the nozzle 42 through a fan 46 disposed beside the partitionwall 44.

The above described meshed linen 22 obtained through the above describedmethod is cut in a predetermined size and insert into a pad for ahygienic band.

In this embodiment, since the mugwort paper is made of a meshed linen,an aperture forming process is not required, making the process simpleand the manufacturing costs be saved.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mugwort-impregnated sheet comprising:a papermade of pulp; a dissociated mugwort naps added on at least one side ofthe paper.
 2. A method for making mugwort-impregnated sheet, comprisingthe steps of:crushing a lump of dry mugwort into 10-150 mesh sizepieces; straining the crushed mugwort to obtain a certain amount ofmugwort naps without stalk and chlorophyll; fumigating the mugwort napswithin a steam boiler having a temperature of about 300° C. andpressurized to roughly 2-3 ton/m³ ; dissociating the mugwort naps in afirst refiner; applying the mugwort naps on a draft paper, which is madeby dissociating a lump of pulp in a second refiner, to obtain a draftingmugwort sheet; and dehydrating the drafting mugwort sheet.
 3. The methodof claim 2 further comprising the step of multi-layering the draftingmugwort sheet.